Applicants for $150,000 fisherfolk grant to be scrunitised throughout June
Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo interacts with one of the persons at the fisherfolk meeting at the Classic International Hotel, on Thursday (Office of the Vice-President photo)
Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo interacts with one of the persons at the fisherfolk meeting at the Classic International Hotel, on Thursday (Office of the Vice-President photo)

THIS month will be used to scrutinise claims made by persons to receive the $150,000 one-off grant recently announced by President, Dr Irfaan Ali, and payments will commence in July, Vice-President, Dr Bharrat Jagdeo has said.

Addressing scores of fishermen at the Classic International Hotel on Thursday, Dr Jagdeo lamented the trickery played by persons to obtain flood-relief grants even though they had never planted and, therefore, never suffered any loss as a result of the massive floods last year.

In a bid to prevent a recurrence of the situation that occurred with the flood-relief grants, Dr Jagdeo asked the fishermen to help scrutinise the names of persons who will be making claims for the one-off fisherfolk grant.

The fishermen welcomed the grant from the government and pledged to work with authorities to weed out fraudsters who would be looking to cash in by posing as fishermen.

The Vice-President said the government understands the challenges and supports the hardworking members of the fishing industry and wants them and their families to benefit, but also wants proper accountability for the money which is a relief measure to offset some of the hardships they face.

Some 5,000 – 5,500 persons are expected to benefit from the one-off grant.

Chairman of the co-op, Pameshwar Jainarine, stated to the Guyana Chronicle that he saw first-hand the struggles boat owners and crew members had faced and noted that the intervention by the government was well deserved.

“Catch is now a bit better this past month but it has been quite a while that most boat owners and fishers have been running in the red. Had it not been for the increase in price, it would have been much tougher,” he said.

He continued: “It’s about time the fisherfolk get some relief and this will make more people continue to go out to sea and fish. Many left to go spray rice, drive taxi or work on farms. This grant made many feel appreciated and that the industry matters so I know for sure many who were thinking about leaving will stay on and continue.”

For many like boat captain, Krisendatt Doman, 51, who has been fishing since he was 14 years old, the grant means a lot to him and his family since he plans to use this money wisely.

“I don’t know nothing else but fish; right now, it’s really tough and it will be nice to get the grant since it will help cushion our challenges. I really happy for this and hope we can get it before Father’s Day,” he said.

These are the persons, the government wants to see benefit from the $150,000 grant, Vice-President Jagdeo said.

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